Cap Markets

First Resource Bank in Exton, Pa., has received federal regulatory approval to exit the Small Business Lending Fund program.

Horizon Bancorp in Michigan City, Ind., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund program.

The near future may find more banks ceasing to originate residential mortgages in an effort to stop the slide in stock prices.

The hedge fund Bluestone Financial Partners has investments in a handful of banks that it views as takeout targets, but its founder, Ted Peters, says he would never agitate for a sale. Here's why he values the pacifist approach.

Activist investors are turning their sights back toward banks after going easier on them than on other industries in recent years. Look for the next bank M&A wave to be fueled by aggressive hedge funds as they push for board seats and ultimately sales of financial institutions.

PL Capital is raising money for a new fund that'll target banks with up to $75 billion of assets, after 20 years of sticking to just community banks with less than $3 billion of assets. In this Q&A, Richard Lashley explains why activist investors are eyeing bigger banks now and how banks can avoid his kind.

College Ave Student Loans, an online lender in Wilmington, Del., announced Thursday that it has raised $20 million in equity financing.

Randolph Bancorp in Stoughton, Mass., plans to convert from a mutual thrift to a stock-owned bank. The $386 million-asset company will hold an initial public offering as part of its conversion, it said Tuesday.

The combination of falling stock prices, higher-risk strategies and signs of worsening credit quality does not bode well for the industry's road ahead.

Banco Santander SA built up capital in the fourth quarter, easing investor concern about its ability to bolster buffers, as Spain's largest lender booked charges that wiped out profit.